Box Score
NEWARK, NJ - NJIT women's soccer team celebrated Senior Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Day with a 2-0 win over visiting Howard Sunday afternoon in Great West Conference action at J. Malcolm Simon Stadium at Lubetkin Field.
The Highlanders recognized senior Briana Morales in pre-game ceremonies. With 58 career games played, Briana is among the program's all-time leaders. She has also played in 41 Division I matches, the last three years.
The win moves NJIT into first place in the Great West Conference East Division and clinches the top seed in the East heading into the Conference Tournament in November, hosted by NJIT. The two teams tied 1-1 (2OT) earlier in the month in Washington.
Freshman Amanda Dotten scored the first goal of the match when she positioned herself deep in the box and took a pass from classmate Meryl Hershfield off a 25-yard free kick from the left side of the field. Dotten, having got behind the Bison defense headed the ball into the net at 53:12, for her second goal of the season.
NJIT added an insurance goal from Piper Lunan with 5:55 remaining in the contest. Lunan received a nice pass from Morales in the middle of the open field firing a shot that deflected off the inside of the left post into the back of net. Lunan collected her third goal of the season tying her with Kori Washington and Gechi Ukaegbu for the 2009 lead in that category.
Sunday's assist by Hershfield was her second of the season while captain Morales registered her first.
Highlander goalkeeper Sadie Mele made four saves in recording her third shutout of the season. Two out of three shutouts have come in the last seven days. Mele picks up her eighth career shutout and 13th career win ranking her first all-time at NJIT in most goalkeeper wins surpassing Daisy Calderon's 10 wins, who played from 2000-01; 2003).
Mele had to make two good saves-- in the second half--on strong shots by Howard's freshman Cynthia Snyder and junior Stephanie McLean.
Four minutes after the Highlanders first tally, Snyder took a hard shot that forced Mele to make a diving save. Late in the second half, McLean fired a shot on the ground that Mele recovered.
Howard's Chanel Bell, who was honored last week as Great West Conference Defensive Player of the Week made four saves.
NJIT will travel to Staten Island, NY on Friday to face Wagner at 3pm.
